The IET Present around the World (PATW) Competition
Global competition for students, recent graduates, apprentices and young professionals aged 18-26 years
in this section
Frequently asked questions
| 1. | Q | What is the age limit for competitors? |
| A | Minimum age: 18 years old. This includes ‘A’ Level (and equivalent) students who are at least 18 years old at the time they first compete. Maximum age: 26 years old, as at the time they first compete.
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| 2. | Q | Can competitors take part in more than one Local Network competition, for example an LN event where they work and another where they live? |
| A | Competitors may only enter one Local Network competition per year.
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| 3. | Q | Can winners give a different presentation at each level? |
| A | The same presentation is to be delivered at every level of the competition. As this is a competition to improve presentation skills, feedback and practise is important.
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| 4. | Q | Can teams participate? |
| A | This is not a competition for teams. Only individual competitors may participate.
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| 5. | Q | What is the minimum and maximum number of entrants needed for a Local Network competition to take part? |
| A | Minimum number of competitors in order to award both a winner and runner-up prize is four. If only two or three competitors turn up, the event may still go ahead, but only one prize can be awarded. If only one competitor turns up, the event would unfortunately have to be cancelled and the competitor advised of their nearest alternative LN competition. The recommended maximum number of competitors is eight. If there is no Local Network competition in the area or if there are more than eight people interested in competing then potential participants are advised to apply to the nearest Local Network.
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| 6. | Q | How many prizes can be awarded at each event? |
| A | The maximum number of prizes is two – the winner and runner-up – if there is a minimum of four participants. If there are only two or three competitors, only first place prize can be awarded.
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| 7. | Q | How many contestants win free membership? |
| A | Free Membership is awarded only to the winner - and runner up if there are four or more participants - of a Local Network heat.
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| 8. | Q | Can non-members of the IET enter the competition? |
| A | Non-members can enter the competition at University/Student Group and Local Network level but they must have applied for IET membership before they can compete at National (Area), Regional and Global Level.
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| 9. | Q | Is a synopsis of the presentation needed? |
| A | Prior to submission, a brief synopsis of the presentation may be requested, but this will not be used for pre-screening purposes to verify if the participant can enter or not. All potential entrants should be given a chance to compete no matter of their academic background as long as the presentation is given on the relevant subject matter.
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| 10. | Q | Is it free to enter? |
| A | There should be no fee to enter the competition at any level.
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| 11. | Q | If a presenter is unable to attend the venue on the competition date, can he/she participate by webcast? |
| A | The competition takes place in front of an audience and judges. As the judging takes into account presentation skills and audience impact, all presenters have to be physically present to compete.
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| 12. | Q | What is the international travel element of the prize? |
| A | The winner of the Global Final will have an opportunity to give their presentation in another Region. This will either be at the Global Final in 2012, or at a Regional Final in 2013, if the Global Final is held in the same Region where the winner resides.
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| 13. | Q | Does every IET Local Network hold a Present around the World competition? |
| A | Not all IET Local Networks hold a PATW competition, but many do. In 2011, 63 Local Networks participated globally. In 2012, 69 Local Networks participated globally.
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| 14. | Q | If a competitor has competed in a previous year can they compete again the following year? |
| A | If the competitor still meets the age criteria and they were not a regional winner in any previous year. Then, yes they may enter the PATW competition again but they will need to give a presentation on a new topic.
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| 15. | Q | If there are less than four competitors and the winner of the Local Network Competition is unable to attend the next level of the competition can one of the other contestants compete on their behalf? |
| A | No, as the runner-up prize had not been awarded at the Local Network Competition it technically means that there is no runner-up to compete in the winner's absence.
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| 16. | Q | How do we judge large numbers of competitors? |
| A | The suggested methods of judging at university/student group or local network level are either: a) To arrange 3 or 4 judging panels to judge the competitors at the same location on the same day, who would select the best entrants to go through to the LN final later that day or meet to collate results and than the LN final can be held. b) All presenters to give a 1 to 3 minute presentation on the day prior to the event occurring in order to chose 8 competitors to compete in the LN competition.
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| 17. | Q | Further to question 3 what if the Local Network winner's presentation contains information which cannot be revealed to a wider audience? |
| A | When potential participants are choosing their presentation topics and preparing their presentation materials they should take into account the fact they might win the Local Network competition and will then be invited to participate in the next level of the competition. Therefore they will need to ensure that their presentation does not contain any details which are commercially sensitive (i.e. intellectual property) or are subject to security clearance (i.e. classified information).
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| 18. | Q | Is this competition only open to competitors with an academic background? |
| A | No, competitors can come from all walks of engineering life: apprentices, students, technicians, recent graduates or young professionals are welcome to enter as long as their presentation is on a subject related to engineering and technology. The emphasis is on the presenter's presentation skills (75%) rather than technical content (25%) enabling competitors at varying levels of their studies or career to participate on an equal footing. |
If you do not see the answer to your question here, contact patw@theiet.org
Further PATW information
Further PATW supporting documents available to Local Networks are available below.
To request copies, please contact patw@theiet.org
